The End of it All
by xpiester333x
Summary: Humans have been forced underground due to the effects of a chemical weapon that has made surface life impossible. Sanji lives in one of these underground colonies and though he dreams of bigger things his life has been mundane; spent following strict rules and obeying higher commands. Or it was, until a stranger shows up and changes everything.
1. Chapter 1

Sanji stared disbelievingly out at the horizon before him. Endless blue stretched before him, a mix and mingle of its various shades. The deep blue of the ocean with its rolling sapphire waves kissed the bright blue sky at the horizon. The sky itself was streaked with wisps of clouds that seemed to reflect their surroundings, creating a pale blue of their own. The sun shined against the rolling waters before him, creating sparkling diamonds on the surface.

Sanji was vaguely aware that there was land somewhere behind him; a pristine white beach with vibrant green fronds and a thick deep forest, but Sanji couldn't be bothered with it was the moment. Right now he found the way the cool water lapped at his feet to be far more diverting. He looked down at his own feet, watching the water wash over them, waves breaking against his legs, and creating a playful spray of water that covered him nearly head to toe. He let out a joyful laugh, bending down and cupping the water in his hands and throwing it into the air, watching as it rained back down in the sunlight like precious jewels. It was more perfect than he'd ever imagined.

Sanji didn't know what to do first. He wanted to run through the waves; he wanted to stretch his legs properly and take off so fast he thought he could fly. He wanted to dive beneath the waves of water, completely immersing himself in the world of blue. He want to try swimming; working his body through the water until he found new, foreign lands. He never wanted to leave. He'd waited for this moment for so long, _dreamed_ about it, he was in no hurry to leave his endlessly blue ocean.

No sooner had the thought occurred to him when he felt something tug at his foot. It was a gentle tug, easily ignored, and Sanji was set to do just that before it happened again. It was harder this time, and Sanji couldn't easily brush it off as nothing now. He leaned over, peering into the crystal blue water below him. The water was so clear Sanji could easily see down to his feet, and though they'd sunk a few inches into the soft sand beneath, nothing else seemed amiss.

And then it happened again, another tug, sharper and more demanding this time, and Sanji watched as his left foot disappeared a few more inches into the sandy bottom. The sand was covering his ankle now, and Sanji started to panic. He thrashed wildly, stirring up debris and churning the water, eliminating his ability to see, in an effort to pull his foot back from its captor, to no avail. Aside from muddying the once crystal clear water, Sanji could still feel the slight tug on his foot, pulling harder again and bringing his leg down till the sand surrounded his upper calf.

Sanji kicked at the sand desperately with his free leg, hoping to frighten off whatever was attacking him, but the hold never loosened. He peered desperately into the water again, praying for help all the while. Of course the water was far too murky to see anything now, but Sanji squinted, sure he could see something down there. Whatever it was, it was large and dark, slowly rising towards the surface. The closer it got to the top the most distinct the shape was. Something large and round, with bunches of algae or plant matter growing off of it. Except it wasn't plant matter...it was hair; dark and curly and oddly familiar.

Once he made that distinction, the rest wasn't hard to piece together; the dark skin, the long nose, the full lips, all belonging to a face that was easily recognizable to Sanji. Usopp's detached head floated to the surface of the water that had long ago gone from crystal and pristine to murky and dark. Sanji stared at it in disbelief, pain searing into his chest as he realized exactly how wrong this vision was.

Sanji reached out, meaning to place a comforting hand on the familiar face of his friend, when suddenly the eyes snapped open, wide and wild, rolling in their sockets until they found Sanji's. Sanji stared back, horrified. Usopp's detached head was bad enough but now it was moving, somehow still alive despite that being such a horrible impossibility.

When the dark eyes found Sanji's, the full lips parted, dragging in a gurgling breath. The gurgling sound stopped and Sanji watched the eyes carefully, waiting to hear the words his friend would speak. His voice was raspy and dry, as if the ability to speak had been long since lost to him, but he managed the word easily enough, one simple word, spoken coldly and with just a hint of bitterness and blame.

"Sanji."

* * *

Sanji woke with flailing limbs as he both tried to sit up and fight off the blanket he'd managed to tangle himself in. His breath came in stuttering gasps; he couldn't seem to get enough oxygen into his lungs. It only took another half a minute for him to recognize the feel of something on his foot, tugging it the same way it had in his dream, and that was enough to promptly set off another panic in him, and he kicked out hard.

"Ouch!" A voice cried out. The same one from his dream, though it sounded much more normal now. "Sanji! That hurt!" Usopp complained, rubbing at his now sore hand.

Sanji took another deep breath, trying to calm and steady himself as he blinked back to full consciousness. The first thing that he made note of was that Usopp was standing at the end of his bunk, looking irritated but otherwise unharmed; his head was sitting squarely on his shoulders where it belonged. That alone calmed him considerably, and the fact that it seemed the object Sanji has kicked away from his foot had been Usopp's hand sealed the deal for Sanji. He'd been having a nightmare.

Usopp was still gazing at Sanji scornfully. "I know you don't like being woken up, but we're going to be late if you sleep any longer. You already missed the first bells."

Sanji looked over their barracks. It was emptied for the most part, with only a few stragglers left putting on the final touches on their uniforms and work attire before heading out. He had indeed woken up very late.

Sanji sprung from bed quickly, not bothering to right his blanket beyond tossing it back up onto his own bunk. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He asked Usopp as he made for his trunk, haphazardly pulling his own uniform from its contents.

"I tried," Usopp said, his tone was patient but Sanji could hear the hint of irritation in his voice. "But you wouldn't wake up. And when you did, you kicked me. Hard." Usopp added the last part with a sniff.

"I'm sorry," Sanji tried apologizing. He did genuinely feel guilty, he knew he had some serious leg strength, especially when he felt threatened; he wasn't likely to hold back. "I was dreaming," He added by way of explanation.

Usopp sniffed again. "Well I hope it was worth it. I think you may have broken at least three of my fingers! I'll just have to make the most of my other hand," He sighed wistfully. "But of course a true man like me never backs down in the face of pain."

"You shitty little liar," Sanji growled, jerking Usopp's "injured" hand toward himself for examination. There was a small red spot at on the side of his friend's hand, right below his index finger. He must have been fast enough to jerk his hand away before taking the actual hit. It looked like Sanji had barely grazed him. "This _might _bruise, but you're fine," He rolled his eyes, releasing Usopp's hand and pulling on his last sock.

Usopp made a choked noise that sounded partially indignant and partially humiliated, but Sanji ignored him. Instead he pulled on the coat of his uniform and turned to the younger man. "Ready to go?"

Usopp gave him another scornful look. "Don't forget your hat," He grumbled before turning and leading the way out of their barracks.

* * *

Seventeen years ago the world had been at war, countries leaders fighting over money, religion, and power, while their citizens struggled in a world filled with drugs, gangs, and poverty. No one old enough to remember those times speaks very fondly of them; the world had been a dangerous place and many people felt they were better off leaving it in the past.

Not everyone was suffering from the times, however. Weapon makers saw the state of the world as an opportunity to shine, creating increasingly deadly weapons for inexperienced young soldiers to wield and for countries to threaten each other with. One particular mad scientist had his eyes set on developing the most deadly weapon ever to exist. He lovingly named his creation "Shinokuni", a chemical weapon designed to kill masses of people over large areas, and sold it to the highest bidders.

Countries fought over ownership of these new weapons like they had fought over everything else. Each one felt they needed one or more of the destructive missile in order to stand on even ground with the countries they were warring with. Fortunately for them there were plenty of copies of Shinokuni to go around, and it wasn't long before every country could claim to own at least one. Naturally they made their threats, and used their weapons as security against attacks. After all, they feared retaliation from other countries.

Tensions rose, threats becoming more reckless and hostile, until they reached the breaking point. Sanji wasn't sure who had pulled the trigger first; it was never mentioned in their lessons. Not that it mattered really; none of those countries were left standing anymore. Not after the first missile was fired. The first missile set off a chain reaction, a domino effect that spread throughout the world, causing everyone to fire their ammunition as well.

Shinokuni was far more effective than any them had realized.

It was fortunate that small factions of people had had the foresight to start preparing for this inevitable disaster. Using any and all available resources these people set up small underground hideouts; places that would be safe from the effect of Shinokuni and the resulting fallout. When the missiles started flying, these were the people that saved humanity, ushering in anyone and everyone they could to their underground shelters.

Seventeen years later, those small shelters had grown into small underground towns. Sanji's colony held a population of at least five hundred. There were other colonies as well, spread apart but connected by a developed tunnel system. They rarely came into contact with each other, their leaders' only meeting once in a great while to share information and developments as a way of keeping peace between the colonies.

A few attempts had been made to resurface. Small search parties had been sent to the surface to see if it was once again suitable for human habitation. Some of these people came back…and some did not. It all led to the same conclusion though; Shinokuni's gasses still made surface life impossible.

* * *

Sanji and Usopp fought their way through the large crowd in the main atrium of their colony. The mess hall was off to the left, and the line was already long. They quickly pushed past another few bodies to claim a place at the end of the queue.

"I swear, Sanji, if we don't get breakfast this morning…" Usopp's threat trailed off and he fidgeted nervously, eyeing the line ahead of them.

It was one of the colony rules. Meals were served during a very strict time slots, and being late for them resulted in your missing a meal. The rule served as both a disciplinary lesson and a way to conserve food. Sanji had been on the wrong end of this rule more than once and knew it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Don't worry Usopp, I wouldn't let you starve," Sanji muttered a little guiltily. He wasn't lying though. Even if they missed breakfast hour, Sanji would sneak food from the kitchens to tide his friend over until lunch. That was one of the perks to working in the kitchens.

Usopp's distress seemed to melt a little at the assurance, and his fidgeting all but stopped. The change in his friend's behavior put Sanji at ease. A few more people filed into the line behind them and that seemed to make Usopp relax even more. They may be late, but they weren't the only ones.

They moved with the line, inching steadily closer to the doors of the mess hall. The doors that would decide their fates for the morning, they'd swing closed when time was up. Sanji only hoped they'd be inside of them before they did.

It was true he could, and most certainly would, sneak food from the kitchens. He was very fortunate that the kitchen staff were understanding people who turned a blind eye to those kinds of things. Sanji had even seen a few of them do the same, though there was an unspoken rule that no one was ever supposed to mention it. However even if the people he worked with were understanding, others were not so. It was a big risk for Sanji, Usopp, and the other kitchen staff. That was why Sanji tried to limit his food sneaking to a minimum, and would really prefer to make it to breakfast on time.

He let out a relieved sigh when the line inched them through the doors and into the mess hall. Usopp sighed as well and any tension between the two of them melted entirely as they fell into easy conversation.

"So what did you dream about?" Usopp asked, apparently feeling significantly more curious now that he knew his day wasn't going to start off on the wrong foot.

Sanji threw a cautious eye around them. The mess hall was crowded, and they were surrounded by people on all sides. Not exactly an ideal place to talk about taboo subjects, but then everyone seemed busy with their own conversations. Sanji took the chance, leaning closer to speak as quietly as possible.

"The ocean," He muttered softly, so softly he wasn't even sure Usopp would hear him.

However his long nosed friend's eyes widened and Sanji knew he had heard. Usopp threw a cautious glance around as well before replying.

"What was it like?"

Their colony had many rules and laws that were strictly enforced; don't be late to meals, don't miss work, don't pick fights. However there were some things that were not enforced by the rules, but were still highly frowned upon. Talking about the surface world was at the peak of this category. Sanji had even seen people wrongfully punished for doing so. It wasn't an official law, but it may as well have been.

But Sanji couldn't help himself. "Beautiful," He smiled broadly. "Everything was so blue; all different shades of it. And the water so was cool and clear. It was just…"He paused searching for a more appropriate word. Finding none, he settled for his first assessment. "Beautiful."

Usopp looked out into the distance, a dreamy look on his face like he was seeing the same scene Sanji was. Maybe he was, or something close anyway; Usopp had a keen eye and a vivid imagination as well as a flair for the artistic that very well may have let him see the ocean exactly the same as Sanji had seen it in his dream.

Finally Usopp seemed to rein his mind back into reality and looked to Sanji again. "You seemed pretty freaked out when you woke up though," He frowned thoughtfully.

Sanji balked, he'd been hoping Usopp wouldn't piece things together like that. Of course his friend was infuriatingly smart sometimes. "Uh," Sanji fished around his mind for a quick excuse. Usopp probably wouldn't like to know that he made an appearance in Sanji's dream as a decapitated head. "I started drowning. When you tugged on my foot I felt like I was being pulled under water. I panicked," He explained. It was almost true, and Sanji was counting on the 'almost' part of that to pass him by without need for further explanation.

"You were _drowning_?" Usopp laughed. "Why did you wade out into the water anyway? You know you can't swim!"

Sanji thought about pointing out that this was his dream, and if he had wanted to swim he probably could have, but Usopp seemed to have bought the lie for now. Sanji wisely kept his mouth shut.

Usopp continued to ask him about his dream, wanting more details about the scenery and occasionally still laughing at his inability to swim in his dream. Sanji let those mockeries slide, glad to see his friend laughing rather than being freaked out by the truth of Sanji's dream.

Their hushed conversation ended abruptly as they took their trays and received their food. Whispering to each other in the crowded mess hall was one thing, but here the line was much more organized and the people handing out food were watching them carefully. They let anymore talk about the ocean or anything else related to the surface trail off into nothing to be discussed later under safer circumstances.

Food received, they moved to find a place to sit in the overcrowded room. Some people glared at them threateningly as they passed by, as if daring the two young men to sit at their table. These people had no effect on Sanji, he knew they wouldn't touch him, but Usopp flinched visibly whenever he caught their eye.

They finally managed to find a fairly empty table to sit at. There was only one other occupant already seated there, a large, burly man with an impressively long beard. He gave Usopp and Sanji only a cursory glance as they sat before returning to his own meal. This worked for Sanji, he may have been able to put up with being glared down while he ate, but he knew Usopp wasn't quite so brave. Sanji had seen Usopp skip whole meals because he was too afraid to eat.

There wasn't much time to linger after their meal, partially because of Sanji's lateness and partially because lingering after a meal was seen as being nonproductive and if the guards caught them they'd be scolded. They avoided this by eating slowly, making conversation and plans as they ate.

"Did you want to stop by the library during lunch?" Usopp offered. "We can grab our food and eat on the way. Nami is working today."

Sanji paused mid-bite to beam at his friend. "Of course we can visit my beautiful Nami!" He cried happily.

Usopp rolled his eyes. "I don't think she's your beautiful anything," He muttered, though his words went completely unheard by Sanji. "My real reason in saying that was we can…" He trailed off, pausing to look at their single tablemate. The man was eating, his attention seemingly solely on his food, but Usopp lowered his voice before speaking again. "We can look at those books."

In the library, in a restricted section only accessible by their leaders and those given special dispensation, there was a large collection of books that all pertained to the surface. There were historical texts, maps, encyclopedias, and even books that contained nothing but photographs. Why they were there Sanji had no idea, except that maybe they were kept because of their sentimental value, or perhaps as research for future expeditions to the surface.

He had the sneaking suspicion that not many people knew this section existed. He certainly hadn't known it was there until Nami had begun her job in the library and told him about it. As a librarian she of course had a duty to maintain _all_ of the books in the library, even the ones that were off limits to most people. Nami spent her time pouring over the fascinating books, particularly the maps of the world she'd never seen in person.

Showing anyone else was a big risk, and Sanji was eternally grateful that she was such a generous angel to allow both he and Usopp to look at them. Sanji had never seen anything of the surface before she'd shown them; he'd been too young to remember anything from before the colonies, and it was taboo to talk about the surface now. He poured over the books in that section with much more concentration and care than he ever gave his lessons.

He particularly loved the ocean. There was one book that held nothing but pictures of the ocean, at various times of day in various locations, but it never ceased to amaze him. It was truly breathtaking. So vast, the pictures made him think there was never an end to it (though Nami made sure to show him on her maps that there was).

That was what had started the dreams. Not that they were a nightly occurrence but they happened just often enough to be notable, though not as often as Sanji would have liked. Sanji dreamed of the surface before the books too, it had always been an interest of his, but his dreams before had been less substantial. At the time Sanji had only the vaguest idea of what the surface had been like, and his dreams were abstract, unclear images that surfaces from his unconscious imagination. They were usually strange and probably more closely resembled the tunnel system of their colony than they did anything on the surface.

After reading through the books in the restricted area of the library, Sanji's dreams became much more realistic, vibrant, and mostly ocean themed. Not that he was complaining, he loved the view even in his dreams. He only hoped that one day the surface would be clear enough to return to and he could see it in person.

"What do you think?" Usopp prompted, noticing Sanji's slip into the realm of day dreams.

"I think it sounds great," Sanji beamed again. "What are you going to read about this time?"

"Trees," Usopp replied easily. He'd clearly been planning this for a while. "Trees are so cool! Can you believe how tall they can get?"

Sanji listened to Usopp tell him about the specifications about trees that Sanji had probably heard enough times by now to have memorized. It didn't matter though. Trees to Usopp were like the ocean to Sanji; they caught his interest and Usopp was fascinated.

The mess hall steadily filtered down, people finishing their meals and making for their jobs. Sanji regretfully pointed this out to Usopp, and his younger friend nodded in understanding, standing from their table and picking his tray up to return it for washing. Sanji did the same, following behind.

Usopp always became antsy before work. He didn't always show it overtly and he almost never mentioned it, but Sanji could see it in the tension in his shoulders and the nervous jerk in his legs that betrayed his anxiety. Not that Sanji blamed his friend at all, in fact he felt a similar sort of worry for him.

To keep up productivity and efficiency, everyone was assigned a job at the age of sixteen. The jobs varied and were supposed to be based on aptitude. Once you were assigned a job you stayed in it as an apprentice, learning the ways of your particular craft under a mentor for several years before being considered fully qualified to work in that craft.

Of course this system wasn't flawless, and people didn't always fit right into the job they were assigned. If that was the case you were reevaluated and reassigned to a different job. It wasn't uncommon; Sanji knew plenty of people who hadn't fit into their first jobs. If for whatever reason your second job didn't work out either, you were reevaluated again and reassigned once more.

If your second job was a failure you had only one more chance, one more evaluation and one more reassignment, before you were sent to work in the factories. The factories were where the bulk of building and repairing important equipment like the sunlamps and the water pumps took place. They were where those who couldn't fit into a different job or those who had lost the ability to perform their assigned job were sent. The factories also had an alarmingly high death toll due to the many accidents that happened there.

Usopp's first two jobs hadn't worked out. This was mostly because his mentors were crude, domineering monsters that judged far too harshly and never even gave Usopp a chance to prove himself. The poor guy never did work well under pressure; he was sensitive and intimidation was about the least helpful method in instructing him. Not that those pompous assholes even took that into consideration before declaring him useless. Sanji snarled just at the thought of Usopp's previous mentors.

So Usopp was on job number three, chance number three. His last one before he was sent to the factories. He had every right to be anxious about it. Fortunately, Usopp's third mentor was vastly different than his first two. In fact the man, Franky was his name, was even a little…eccentric. Sanji had met him once, when he and Usopp had bumped into the wild man on the street and Usopp had introduced them. Franky had seemed friendly enough, enthusiastically greeting Sanji like he would an old friend, but something about the vibrant and unnatural blue hair and the smell of gasoline on the man was off putting.

"The hair's a parting gift from Shinokuni," Franky had explained, twisting a hand into his oddly colored locks. "Not that I really mind, I think it makes me look super!" He'd shouted the last word as if doing so would reinforce the fact.

Abnormalities in people caused by Shinokuni weren't uncommon. In fact, Franky's blue hair wasn't one of the stranger things Sanji had heard of, but it certainly was strange to look at. Still, despite his odd appearance and strange personality, Franky seemed nice enough, and he was friendly with Usopp. Likewise, the younger man seemed pretty fond of Franky and seemed to enjoy working for him.

Still, every morning before work there was that flicker of self-doubt in Usopp. It was just a flicker, but it seemed to remind him of his past experience with his mentors, and every morning he practically hummed with the fear that today would be the day Franky rejected him as well.

"So, Usopp," Sanji decided striking up a last minute conversation with him might take his mind off his fears. "What are you and Franky working on?"

Sanji was right, the tension dropped from his friends shoulder and instead Usopp stood a little straighter, looking more self-assured and even a little proud. "You know I can't tell you that Sanji," He replied almost smugly, as if having a big secret to withhold was truly something to be revered. "But expect a big reveal in the future," He chuckled.

Sanji was only mildly curious as to what this 'big reveal' would be. Franky was a mechanic and an engineer, and while his inventions were usually brilliant and useful, mechanical things held very little interest for Sanji. For Usopp's sake though, he feigned an interest.

Usopp was still chuckling over his big secret when he turned to leave. "I'd better get going," He announced. "I'll see you at lunch Sanji!" He seemed to be in a much better mood as he left, and that put Sanji at ease.

Fortunately for him, Sanji's job wasn't far from the mess hall, just through a door as a matter of fact. Meaning he arrived in the kitchen with plenty of time to spare. Not that any of those bastards would give him a break for it.

"You're late, little eggplant," Zeff commented as Sanji pushed through the door.

"I am not!" Sanji protested, adjusting his hat on his head as he took up his spot by Zeff. Zeff was his mentor and the head of the kitchen staff, and although he was a little (okay, a lot) rough around the edges, Sanji truly looked up to him.

"We've been up making breakfast for hours, Sanji! Where have you been?" Carne piped in.

"Don't forget," Patty said to him sagely. "Sanji is just a wee little apprentice. He still has to take it easy and get his proper rest."

Patty and Carne had both worked as apprentices for Zeff before Sanji had, and always saw fit to try his patience at least once a day.

"Shut it, you shitty cooks!" Sanji snapped back at them. It wasn't his fault he wasn't allowed to report to work earlier, it was the shitty rules. Soon Sanji would be sworn in to his job and he'd be here in the early morning with the rest of them and they'd have to eat their own words then.

"Shut it, all of you!" Zeff barked. "You'll make the food taste bad."

Carne made a face while he stirred at some of the left over breakfast porridge. "Like this crap could taste any worse," He muttered, though not quietly enough to avoid earning a kick from Zeff.

If there was one thing to know about working under Zeff it was that his kicks were endlessly painful and to be avoided at all costs. Zeff had suffered a pretty bad wound during the Shinokuni disaster that resulted in his losing one of his legs due to infection. He'd been made a wooden leg to keep him standing, but the wood hurt twice as bad when it came into contact with your shin at full force.

While Carne cursed quietly and nursed his bruised shin, Zeff hobbled back to Sanji. "How was the food?" He asked gruffly.

Sanji blanched. The food was never appetizing, truth be told. Food was a precious enough commodity, but there wasn't much of a variety in what they could eat, and there was absolutely none of the spice things Zeff had spent so much time explaining to him. It was a shame, because Sanji would have loved to have tried the different flavors Zeff described.

"It was edible," Sanji shrugged. They had this conversation every day, and Sanji had long ago learned that honesty was the best policy with Zeff. If Sanji had told him the food was good, the old man would brood and snap at him all day until Sanji fessed up to the truth (though usually by that point he'd be shouting the truth in the most insulting way possible). On the other hand, if Sanji insulted the food he'd be called an ungrateful brat. In the end, the best response was the most honest. The food wasn't good, but it wasn't so bad it couldn't be forced down either.

Zeff scowled at the reply but Sanji knew the look wasn't meant for him. When Zeff had lived on the surface he'd owned a restaurant, serving food to people who would pay him to eat it. Zeff had never outright told them that his food was popular and renowned, but from the few stories Zeff had told him about his life on the surface (a topic they only discussed when the kitchen staff was left alone and the guards were busy elsewhere) Sanji had gathered the old man's restaurant had been something famous, and that was no doubt because of the quality of Zeff's food.

Now however, the former famous chef was forced to comply with a multitude of rules and restrictions, resulting in substantial but bland meals. Still, if there was one lesson Zeff had repeatedly pounded into Sanji's head it was that food was sustenance for energy. Its taste and presentation came only after its nutritional value. Zeff seemed to abide by that law, but it was clear he wished that people would be able to enjoy his food as well.

"Don't worry about it, old man, it wasn't great but it was edible," Sanji griped. Pushing Zeff's buttons probably wasn't the best idea, but Sanji figured it was better than letting the old guy dwell on it.

It seemed to work, Zeff snorted and the almost regretful look in his eyes faded. "You're too young to be insulting my cooking, little eggplant."

Sanji let the stupid and insulting little nickname roll off of him this once. He'd let the shitty old man have one free shot today, since he was feeling so kind and forgiving.

The first half of his work day seemed to pass by quickly. The demands of cooking a meal for hundreds of people actually never got any easier, even if the food was the same almost every day, and the rush of the fast paced kitchen seemed to take the concept of time along with it. Before Sanji knew it Zeff was ushering him out the door for his lunch and Patty and Carne were mocking him in childish voices as he left.

* * *

Sanji waited outside the mess hall for Usopp. On the off chance the younger man was late, Sanji would rather miss a meal with him than eat alone while his friend went hungry. Fortunately Franky seemed pretty good with time and it wasn't long before Usopp came into view, pushing his way through the crowd and apologizing profusely when he ran smack into a man nearly twice his size.

Sanji sighed, sidling up to his friend on the off chance Usopp's profuse apologies were not enough for the Neanderthal. Not that Sanji would ever pick a fight, but it wasn't Sanji's fault that some people were just asking to have their asses kicked. It also wasn't Sanji's fault that the men whose asses he'd kicked in the past weren't very bright and had been easily goaded into a fight in the first place. But after all, the guards weren't concerned about who said what first, only with who threw the first punch.

Fortunately for the large man Sanji wasn't the only one who spotted the little altercation. One of the guards had also spied the duo, and had made his way closer. Sanji frowned, watching the guard approach his friend and the large moron who was glaring down at the shorter man. Guards were not exactly Sanji's favorite kind of people. They were the law keepers of the colony; those put in charge of upholding justice. Of course, some of them had a very warped sense of justice that relied more upon who could do them the most favors rather than who was actually in need of their protection. They were a mostly untrustworthy lot of people and Sanji tried to avoid associating with them at all.

Still, not all of them were completely horrible. This particular guard was a favorite of Sanji's…or as much of a favorite as Sanji had in the guards at least. Brook was a tall, skeleton thin man. Sanji would have feared he was suffering malnutrition if he didn't know that the guards ate ridiculously well. They certainly didn't have to suffer through tasteless porridge for breakfast. He had a youthful personality despite his age, a massive bush of hair he dubbed his "most noteworthy feature", and often carried around a violin with him, pausing frequently during his rounds to play it for anyone who asked. He was quite a talented musician, and his music tended to lift people's weary spirits.

He was truly loved by most people, and while Sanji generally liked the tall man he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone that worked for the guard. However if there was any guard he wanted approaching a situation involving any of his friends or himself it was Brook.

"What seems to be the problem, gentleman?" Brook greeted them. He sounded friendly and casual but his arrival was enough to pull the larger man's attention away from Usopp. Sanji used that opportunity to slide up next to his friend.

"Usopp!" Sanji mock whispered, making sure to be loud enough to be clearly heard by both Brook and the man. "Did you apologize for running into this man?"

Usopp squeaked fearfully and nodded. "I did! I swear I did!"

The big idiot clearly wasn't as stupid as Sanji had pegged him to be. He looked once between Sanji and Brook and gave a slight shrug. "Nothing's the matter, sir," The man said to Brook. "Just an accident," He added, sneering at Sanji and Usopp once more before turning and walking away.

They watched him disappear into the crowd. Once he was gone from sight Usopp sagged visibly with relief. Sanji gave him a smile to assure him it was alright now.

"Having a pleasant morning, boys?" Brook chortled.

"I've had better," Usopp mumbled.

Sanji shrugged. He was grateful for Brook's interference, but still wary about holding much of a conversation with the guy. "Working hard of course. May we get our lunch now, sir?" He responded.

Brook looked amused, as if Sanji's word-perfect reply was somehow funny. It was unnerving to Sanji, but he held his ground, waiting politely to be excused. Finally Brook spoke again. "Of course you may, I would hate to keep you. Eat well boys!" He waved, turning on spot and sauntering away. There was a spring in his step as if her were dancing to some inaudible tune.

As soon as he was gone Sanji let out a sigh of relief. Usopp did the same, though his reasoning seemed to be completely different.

"Thank god Brook was there right?" He said, following Sanji's lead into the mess hall.

"Yeah, yeah," Sanji rolled his eyes, though his friend couldn't see. "You know, that guy wouldn't have been a problem Usopp."

Usopp frowned, a disapproving look on his face. It was a look Sanji hated receiving because it meant he was about to get scolded like a child by his usually helpless best friend. "You can't fight, Sanji!" Usopp lectured. "You could get into serious trouble for that and not everything can be solved by fighting!"

Which was a point Sanji disagreed on. Fighting usually got the job done pretty quickly, and if Sanji was being completely honest sometimes he found it pretty enjoyable. Not that he liked the repercussions of fighting, he could do without those, but the fighting itself felt good. It was like rattling the bars loose on a confining cage. There was something freeing about it.

Of course he wasn't going to say that now, not with the look Usopp was still giving him. "I know, I know," He sighed. "But would you rather have had that guy kick your ass or have me kick that guy's ass?"

"Neither," Usopp's frowned deepened. "I'd rather the guards step in and end things before they start, like Brook just did."

Sanji scoffed but didn't bother replying. He could argue that any other guard but Brook probably wouldn't have let either party walk away scot free, but that wouldn't accomplish anything but a roundabout argument that Sanji was not in the mood to have at the moment. Instead he asked Usopp how his job was going and let the subject settle as Usopp regaled him with the entire events (leaving out any and all details of the super-secret project, of course) of his morning. Sanji listened to him with half-hearted attention. His mind had already wandered into the restricted area of the library and was waiting for the rest of him to grab his food and follow along.

* * *

**A/N:**

Hello again! So this is going to be another longer, multi-chapter fic! Where I attempt to delve into the sorta sci-fi? Mildy sci-fi? I don't know what to call it.

I fear this chapter was probably boring and I'm so, so sorry for that. It's a lot of information without a lot of action but hopefully now that we have this out of the way things will be much more interesting from now on so please bear with me. Your feedback is ALWAYS appreciated though!

HUGE thank you to **CookieCake101 **for being my beta for this and putting up with my "wtf is that sentence?!" mistakes. She is truly a savior!


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji and Usopp ate their food while they made their way to the library. The library was a fair distance from the mess hall, off of the atrium and down a long corridor where the sounds of people speaking over one another as well as the constant humming of machinery given off by the factories couldn't reach it. It was quiet there, peaceful, and it was a great escape from the cacophony caused by day to day life.

Sanji particularly enjoyed the silence and the lack of people. The colony wasn't large, by any means. It was fair sized and Sanji had heard rumors that there were other colonies that were much smaller, but that didn't mean their colony was spacious, and it felt even smaller when it was filled with people. Sanji worked in a busy kitchen and slept in the barracks with around thirty other guys. Everything in between was just as filled with people, and a moment of privacy was almost unheard of.

The library was different though. It was never really empty, but it was much less crowded than a majority of the town outside of it. The best part of it though was that it was quiet, almost eerily so. After leaving the noisy and jostling atmosphere of the main atrium, the quiet walk down the corridor to the library was a little unsettling.

Despite the length of their walk there, they reached the library before they finished their lunches and had to stop outside of the large doorway to finish eating. They ate quickly; food was absolutely forbidden in the library. If you were caught you'd be thrown from the library and permanently banned. A little harsh, in Sanji's opinion, but it was a simple rule that he wasn't keen on breaking any time soon.

Usopp choked, crumbs of food spewing from his mouth as he coughed up the incorrectly swallowed bite. Sanji stepped closer, slapping Usopp on the back to help his friend breathe normally again.

"We're not in that much of a hurry, Usopp," He chuckled lightly when the younger man began breathing again.

Their lunch hour wouldn't last forever, and while Sanji was eager to spend a majority of it with his nose in a book, it probably wasn't worth their lives. That was why after Usopp's near choking incident they both ate a little slower, being sure to at least chew their food properly before swallowing. Lunch was a little more appetizing than breakfast. It at least involved fresh vegetables and the bread had been baked fresh that morning. Of course the bread they'd spent so much time baking this morning would last a couple of days, and by then Sanji wouldn't find it nearly as fresh and delicious. At least for now lunch was appetizing.

The kitchen staff was large, and most of them were put to work on the simple tasks of cooking and baking the massive sized meals that would feed a majority of the colony. A smaller group of cooks, personally selected by Zeff, worked on smaller, more quality meals. These meals were plated separately, custom made to suit the individual tastes of those they were being served to, and were made with the highest quality ingredients that they could offer. These meals went to the guards and everyone higher than them in command.

As Zeff's apprentice, Sanji was one of the people chosen to work on these meals. Each and every one of them that he plated gave him a pang of regret that he hadn't shown any aptitude for being a guard. It certainly had many perks; guards ate better, their barracks were less crowded, and they had power over most of the colony's citizens.

Sanji chewed his bread carefully, torn between savoring what was probably the freshest meal he'd have this week and hurrying to read more about the ocean. He hoped reading about it would encourage another dream; a dream that hopefully would not involve Usopp's decapitated head.

"Hurry up!" Usopp hissed. He kept his voice to a whisper, preventing it from travelling too far and getting them into trouble. He'd already finished his food and was staring at the food in Sanji's hand with a slight hint of annoyance.

Sanji popped the last of his bread into his mouth, chewing it as quickly as was safe before swallowing. "Alright, let's go."

The library was dimly lit and magically silent. If Sanji listened carefully he could head a page turn from behind one of the shelves and the whoosh of air that was probably a sigh from behind another. There were no glaring ceiling lights here, instead each desk held its own lamp, and there were lights on the walls between the shelves. These lights were bright enough to read by but much softer and easier on the eyes than the harsh bright lights used in the rest of the colony.

With the quiet and softly lit atmosphere, Sanji thought the library might just be the best place in the colony for a nap. Not that he would take one; that was against the rules too. Sleeping was only to be done in the barracks, doing so anywhere else was a sign of laziness. So no, Sanji would never nap in the library, but it wasn't like the thought had never crossed his mind.

He and Usopp made their way over to the librarian's desk. Nami sat behind it, her beautiful red hair tucked behind one of her ears, pouring over some kind of text with a thoughtful look on her face. Sanji wondered what in the library could be so fascinating. Most books that had made it down from the surface had been deemed dangerous and either placed in the restricted area or burned. It didn't leave a very wide selection of interesting reading, in Sanji's opinion.

Nami was around Sanji and Usopp's age but already technically higher than them in social rank. Nami had been one of the lucky children who still made it to the colony with their parents. Most of the kids that grew up in the colony never knew their parents. They'd probably died in the Shinokuni disaster, though no one could really say for sure. Sanji had been one of these kids; he had grown up in the colony's orphanage.

Luckier still, Nami's mother had been a guard in the early years of the colony. According to Nami, her mother had been a good person, even if she was a guard, and had upheld the rules fairly. Sanji had no reason to doubt this claim. He'd never met Nami's mother but she must have been a good person to raise such a wonderful daughter.

Nami's mother had died in an accident when she was still young. Nami had been too young to care for herself, and probably should have ended up in the orphanage like the rest of the children too young to be alone. But because she was the daughter of a guard she was spared the orphanage. Nami had been raised in the guards barracks, shared meals with them, and been set up with a job at a young age. Her apprenticeship had even been shortened so she could work on her own and earn for herself, though even now she still remained with the guards, treated as one of them despite her lack of aptitude for the position.

It was because of this that Usopp had taken a long time to come to trust Nami (Sanji had no such concerns, a lady as beautiful as Nami could never be anything other than perfect). They'd met her in the library when they'd had a project to do for their lessons. Nami didn't have any friends her own age, not having the chance to meet many. Even when she did, Nami was higher status than most others her age; it was not their place to talk to her.

Of course rank and status had never stopped Sanji from talking to a beautiful girl, and Nami had always been beautiful, even when she was young. Usopp nearly had a heart attack when Sanji pulled Nami with them that day in the library, insisting she spend time with them. She'd put up a token effort, claiming she was too good to hang out with a couple of wild orphans. Her words had been harsh but they didn't match the look in her eyes. It was a sad look; she looked lonely. So Sanji had ignored her insults and pulled her along more forcefully.

They'd been friends since then, though it would still take Usopp a little time to trust Nami; he always played on the side of caution in difficult situations, and it probably didn't help much that Nami's attitude could be slightly abrasive even at the best of times. Even so, Usopp eventually warmed up to the girl. The first time she'd let them into the restricted area and made an effort to show Usopp plenty of books she thought would interest him, Usopp seemed to decide once and for all that maybe Nami wasn't as bad as he'd orignally thought her out to be.

"Good afternoon, my beautiful Nami!" Sanji cooed, though he remembered to keep his voice low.

"I'm not your beautiful anything," Nami sighed, not bothering to look up from whatever it was she was reading.

Sanji chose to ignore her remark. "You look as radiant as ever!" He proclaimed. "And to see you so diligently pouring over a book only heightens my love for you. You are so intelligent that it puts the wisest scholars to shame."

"Idiot," Both Usopp and Nami muttered.

There was a moment of silence before Nami finished the paragraph she was reading, marked her page and flipped the book closed before giving them both an assessing look. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Usopp spoke before Sanji could gush more compliments. "We were hoping we could look at some books," He paused, knowing she would get their meaning. It was a secret code the three of them had unofficially established. If the coast was clear, Nami would take them to the back with her. If not, she'd show them to some other likely, non-illegal, section of the library.

Nami's eyes flicked to the side. Sanji's followed them and his eyes widened in surprise. Tsuru, Nami's previous mentor and the head librarian, sat snoring softly in the chair beside her. Sanji hadn't even noticed the old woman there when he'd approached, though he'd been mostly fixated on Nami's radiance at the time.

Tsuru had once been a member of the guard as well, along with Nami's mother when she was still alive. She was old though, and not long after Nami's mother passed Tsuru decided to retire from the guard, volunteering to run the library instead. She was short, bent with age, and frail looking, with pure white hair and more wrinkles than Sanji could count. However she was a tough old woman and Sanji made it a goal to never upset her.

While Sanji may have tiptoed around her, Nami always spoke highly of the old woman. Tsuru was stern but fair, and though she could be harsh she had a kind side as well. She treated Nami like family, and while Sanji could respect that he still didn't trust the old woman to keep their secrets.

Apparently Nami didn't either. "Tsuru?" She called, her voice just a tad too loud in the silent library. It wasn't a shout by any means, but it was certainly loud enough to wake the fiery old woman. She was the enforcer of the library's strict rule of silence, after all.

"Tsuru?" Nami tried again. "Is it okay if I go show them some books?" She asked, the question innocent enough if the old woman happened to hear it, but still something that required a response.

Nami didn't receive one, however. Tsuru continued to snore peacefully in her chair, looking as comfortable as if it were her own bed. After a few moments of silence a smile broke over Nami's face and after one more quick look about the library, checking for any prying eyes, she ushered them down a small hallway.

The hallway was dark, only lit by the dim lamps of the library shining weakly through its entrance. There were no lamps here to guide the way, not that there were supposed to be. This back half of the library was off limits to most everyone; only the librarians themselves used this passage, and they had travelled down it enough times they could navigate it in the dark.

Nami was proving this right now, leading them quickly and quietly down the dark hallway, while Usopp and Sanji struggled not to lose their guide. This resulted in more than one little scuffle; when  
Usopp stepped on the back of Sanji's shoe followed by Sanji turning and elbowing Usopp in the gut on accident.

Nami turned to the both of them and shushed them; her stern glare barely distinguishable in the dimmed light. Her message was clear though, she wanted both of them to shut up and follow her in silence. They complied quickly, carefully separating and bringing their bickering to an abrupt end. There were two reasons to obey Nami's every command. The first was that she was the only one that would take them to the restricted area, and she could be trusted not to sell them out to the guards. The second reason was that Nami was a deadly force when she was angry, and neither Sanji nor Usopp really felt like having to endure the pain of her wrath. It wasn't worth it.

They travelled deeper into the tunnel in absolute silence. The light that had been bravely fighting off the dark at the entrance of the tunnel had almost entirely vanished. Sanji had moved to drag his hand along the wall, following the shape of the tunnel while he listened carefully for Nami's footsteps. Behind him he could hear the sound of Usopp's hand dragging along the rocky tunnel wall as well. Sanji also felt the tips of his friend's fingers grip lightly on his shirt. Perhaps Usopp was worried he'd be separated from the group if he wasn't careful, but Sanji didn't argue against the action. As long as his uniform didn't get wrinkled he was okay with it.

Sanji heard Nami's footsteps stop ahead of him, and stilled his own. It was pitch black in this part of the tunnel; try as he might he couldn't make out the shapes of anything in the darkness. He listened for Nami's movements, and heard a faint clinking sound followed by a slight click. A door swung open, making a grating sound where the base of it hit the uneven crags on the rocky floor.

Suddenly light filled the hallway, bursting out almost blindingly from the open door. Nami pulled her hand away from the inside of the doorway where there was a switch. She smiled, turning to the two young men behind her and beckoning them to come in as she entered the room. Sanji blinked a couple of times, reacquainting his eyes with the light before following after her, Usopp just behind him.

The room was small, just long enough for Sanji to lay across the longest wall comfortably, but every last inch of it was covered in books. Shelves lined the walls floor to ceiling on all four sides, leaving only a small place in one wall for the door. Each and every shelf was filled to capacity with books.

The books were neatly organized by topic, something Sanji knew Nami had done herself. She had done so under the pretense of maintaining a neat and organized library, even the parts of it no one could see, and her superiors applauded her for her dedication. However Sanji knew the real reasoning behind the carefully coded and organized shelves in this room. Nami had been so painstakingly thorough about it for days like this, when she, Sanji, and Usopp would be stopping in. Finding the book you wanted was almost impossible in the jumble that it once had been, and after one too many times having spent all of their available time just _searching_ for the topic you might want, Nami decided that was enough, making sure things were organized for easy access and less wasted time.

Sanji made a beeline for the section Nami had especially made for him; books about the ocean that spanned a couple of shelves. Usopp trailed in behind him, veering off to the left for the books about plant life. Nami watched them each select their books with a look of satisfaction before grabbing one of her atlases and taking a seat on the ground between them. It was one of her favorite things to do when they were reading together. She would point out the locations they were reading about in her atlas, showing them where they could be found on a map of the world.

Sanji turned the pages of a book that held a collection of photos, all featuring the sea. One of the things Sanji found most fascinating about the ocean was that it could look so vastly different. One picture showed a rocky shore with dark, choppy waters the color of steel while another showed an ocean scene like the one from Sanji's dream; white, sandy beaches and clear blue water reflecting a brilliant azure sky. The most amazing part was, when he checked with Nami, these two different scenes were part of the same body of water.

Sanji couldn't believe that, nor could he explain how it was possible. Probably in one of the other books in this room there was an explanation, but that would require he spend at least a couple of visits to this room searching for an answer, and his time here was too precious to waste. He decided he'd just have to accept it as one of the amazing things about the ocean he'd come to love so much.

In what felt like no time at all, Nami called them to leave. She'd been in and out of the room herself, keeping an eye on the library so she wouldn't rise any suspicion and coming back to answer their questions. Well, they were mostly Usopp's questions, though Sanji was sure at this point Usopp knew more about plants and trees than Nami did. Sanji suspected that his friend kept asking Nami questions to make her feel useful and important, and the idea was so sweet that Sanji never called him out on it.

Sanji rarely asked anything. It wasn't that he didn't trust Nami's wisdom; she was one of the smartest people he knew. Sanji never asked things of her though because he preferred to find the answer himself. He didn't know why he preferred it this way; every time a question arose in his mind he would spend his next few visits to this room searching for the answer. It certainly would have been easier just to ask Nami. She had probably read every book in this room cover to cover at least twice, and if she didn't already have the answer memorized she could certainly tell him where to start looking. But Sanji preferred to learn about the ocean on his own.

Maybe it was because everything he read while looking for an answer was another treat to add to his collection of knowledge on the matter. He'd learned most of what he knew about the sea by this process, and he never tired of learning new things. Or maybe it was because the ocean was Sanji's thing. Just like trees and plants were Usopp's thing and maps were Nami's thing, Sanji spent most of his time in this room learning about the ocean. If he wanted to know something about trees he asked Usopp, and if he wanted to know the location of something Nami was the one to turn to. Neither of them asked him questions about their favorite subjects, and likewise Sanji never asked them about his.

Not everything was written in the books though, and sometimes Sanji's questions went unanswered. He didn't mind, if he couldn't find an answer he simply filed the question away. In everything Sanji had read, the ocean was described as still being full of mystery. It was so large, after all, that surely not everything to discover about it had yet been discovered. Mystery surrounded the ocean, and the answers Sanji couldn't find were simply more of that mystery.

Sanji and Usopp stood, dusting off their pants and returning their books to the shelves. They were sure to be very careful about the order of the books; Nami would kill them if she found them even one spot out of place. Books replaced, Sanji and Usopp cast the room one last longing glance before allowing Nami to snap the door shut behind them. No matter how much time they spent reading, it never felt like enough.

They followed Nami back up the pitch black hallway, hands trailing along the wall until the light from the library managed to illuminate the area. Sanji had to blink several times before his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the library. The lamps that had seemed to glow so softly before were now dazzlingly bright to Sanji's unadjusted eyes. Usopp was in a similar state, blinking and rubbing at his eyes as if that could make them work faster.

Nami seemed undisturbed by the sudden change of light. She probably made this trip often enough for her eyes to be accustomed to the differences in brightness. Instead of blinking stupidly and squinting into the too bright room, she was staring warily over at the librarian's desk. Sanji caught sight of the look on her face, a half mixture of concern and suspicion, and followed her gaze to see what had caught her eye.

A man was leaning over the library desk, peering at Tsuru as if he were wondering if she hadn't died in her chair. Sanji didn't blame him, the old woman sat silent and still and only the steady rise and fall of her chest, only noticeable if you looked carefully, was any indication that she hadn't done just that. Sanji was used to this behavior from the old woman; she really took her retirement from the guard to heart. That was why Nami was left in charge of the library more often than not.

Having determined the old woman was probably alive the man opened his mouth, preparing to speak before Nami interrupted.

"Excuse me," She called. "Can I help you with something?" Her voice was all professionalism but her eyes never lost their suspicious glare.

The man turned, fully visible to Sanji now that his eyes had adjusted to the bright light. He was a stranger, not anyone Sanji had seen before. They're colony was fairly small, even if he didn't know the names of everyone he'd been around them often enough to at least recognize their faces. Sanji had never seen this man before, and he certainly would have remember him if he had.

He was Sanji's age, or close to it, and about the same height. His piercing golden eyes and sharply slanted brows made him look perpetually angry, even when he was not purposefully glaring as he was at the moment. His hair was a brilliant and healthy green that would have put the plants in Usopp's favorite books to shame. He was sharp and angular; everything about him from his sharp nose to his defined chin and down to the visible and impressive muscles on his arms was defined and powerful.

The most peculiar thing was the color of his skin. Most everyone in the colonies had pale, fair skin like Sanji's own, so light it was almost translucent. Some, like Usopp, had darker skin. Usopp's skin was undeniably darker than Sanji's but still appeared faded and muted looking. This newcomer was different. His skin was a bronzed color, lighter than Usopp's but warmer and much more vibrant. It almost seemed to radiate a kind of warmth of its own and Sanji wondered if it felt as warm and smooth as it looked.

"Do you work here?" The green-headed man asked.

Sanji could almost hear Nami's patience snap, it often did when she was dealing with people she considered to be of lower intelligence. "No," She replied, snarkily. "I only asked because I was bored."

If Sanji needed an opportunity to gauge exactly how smart this stranger was, he had it now. The green newcomer stared at Nami for an extended moment, and Sanji could practically hear the gears in his head turning as he tried to decide if she were being serious or not. It would have been amusing had the man's entire presence not disturbed Sanji in some inexplicable way.

"Sanji, let's go," Usopp urged, tugging lightly at the sleeve of Sanji's work uniform, obviously not as intrigued by the newcomer as his friend was. "We'll be late."

He was right. Their lunch period was almost over, and they needed to report back to their stations before the alarms sounded out the end of meal time. He turned to follow his friend. He was sure Nami would be alright; the green-headed stranger might have been unusual and imposing, and probably a little rude, but he'd have to be a complete idiot to attack her in public, even in the quiet and under crowded library there were plenty of witnesses. Besides, Nami could take care of herself; Sanji knew that better than anyone. She may not have the brute strength of this stranger but she could clearly outsmart him.

As Sanji turned though, he couldn't miss the clearly spoken words out of the man's mouth. "I'm looking for a map."

Sanji's eyes widened and he turned sharply back to stare at the man. Who was this stranger? He couldn't be a regular transfer, and he definitely wasn't a regular inhabitant of their colony. Sanji looked between Nami and the newcomer. Nami's gaze remained unchanged; she hadn't even so much as twitched when the green-head made his demand. Her passive expression kept her secrets, but Sanji's quick movements and wide-eyed stare certainly didn't, and the newcomer noticed. His head turned sharply, finally paying the two men lingering at the mouth of the tunnel way some attention. His golden eyes analyzed Sanji carefully before moving on to Usopp, who flinched slightly under the studious gaze.

"A map?" Nami asked, calling the man's attention back to her. "What would you need one of those for? I was sure they gave you a tour of the town when you first arrived, did they not?"

One of the man's eyebrows twitched an action neither Sanji nor Nami missed. Nami's eyes in particular narrowed suspiciously on the man before her and her arms folded across her chest. She continued to survey him carefully but didn't speak, inviting him to open his mouth on his own and inadvertently tell her what she wanted to know.

The man met her gaze with a glare of his own and the two stared at each other, each daring the other to speak first. Usopp tugged at Sanji's sleeve again but his eyes never left the stranger and his expression was wary. So Sanji wasn't the only one the green-headed man made uncomfortable. But Sanji ignored Usopp's attempts to pull him away; he was too intrigued by the man.

Finally deciding the silence wasn't going to get him anywhere, the man spoke again. "I'm not looking for a map of the town," He said, his was voice level but his irritation was evident. "I'm looking for a map of the surface."

Nami's eyes widened in shock along with Sanji's this time. Sanji wondered if perhaps they'd been discovered, or at least under suspicion and this was a test of some kind to prove Nami's honestly. He felt a rising panic in his chest at the thought. But why call in a stranger to investigate? Nami was fairly close to most of the guards, and she was bound to have a better reaction to someone she was friendly with than to a complete stranger. It didn't make any sense.

That was the thought that kept Sanji from knocking the man unconscious in an attempt to preserve their secret. Instead he remained the hallway, blocking the way between the stranger than their treasures. He watched the corners of the man's golden eyes crinkle up as an accomplished smirk worked its way on to his features. This green-headed weirdo obviously felt he'd gotten his way, but when Nami denied him again, the flash of anger across his features was especially dangerous looking.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," She said. Her voice trembled just slightly though she still maintained her brave front.

The man's face fell and his previous look of triumph was washed away by his annoyance. "'Hm," The stranger snorted. "What about you, blondie?" He asked, his gaze flicking over in Sanji's direction. Sanji stiffened at the insult and he felt Usopp tug at his shirt again, less out of a desire to leave this time, more out of a need to pull Sanji back from the snarled anger of his thoughts.

"Sanji, don't," Usopp warned.

"We don't have things like that here," Sanji said flatly. He was nowhere near as good an actor as Nami, and not as quick a thinker as Usopp, and he was sure his anger fueled reaction was revealing enough to the stranger but he couldn't stop himself from holding the man's gaze with a dangerous one of his own.

The green headed man glared him down for another moment before looking back to Nami. She didn't flinch when his glare settled on to her again, and she bravely held her ground when one of the stranger's big meaty hands reached for her. Sanji however could no longer keep still. He lunged forward, Usopp's cry of "Sanji! No fighting!" fell on deaf ears as he knocked the man's hand off its course. He had been heading for the collar of Nami's shirt before he intercepted it, so instead he returned the favor, grabbing a fist full of the man's plain shirt and giving it a firm tug, proving his sure grip to the other man.

"Is that how they treat ladies where you come from?" He asked venomously.

The man had been caught off guard by Sanji's sudden interference, but the biting words seemed to drag some sense back into him. His hand shot out, and Sanji braced himself to take a hit but was surprised when the hand landed on Sanji's own, fingers bearing mercilessly down on his wrist. Sanji winced but maintained his grip on the stranger's shirt, though that was partially because his fingers were not obeying him at the moment, the other man's punishing grip was rendering his hand nearly paralyzed.

"Is this how they teach you to treat your guests, Blondie?" He spat right back at Sanji.

Sanji growled, shifting his weight just slightly. The green headed man took note of the movement and made ready for Sanji's free hand to attempt to land a blow. Not that making that kind of preparation was going to help the plant headed idiot in anyway. After all, Sanji didn't often try to strike at someone with just his hands. His toes left the ground, just barely, but he could see the motion wasn't lost on the man in front of him. If he didn't happen to hate the man so much at the moment he probably would have been impressed by the man's observance. It was noticed too late though, there was no way he could avoid Sanji's kick now.

A sharp crack rang out through the otherwise almost silent library, followed by the shout of an authoritative voice. "Enough!"

Sanji froze mid-movement, his leg about half a second from connecting with the stranger's head and making him see stars. The man froze as well, his eyes torn between Sanji's hovering leg and the owner of the voice that had stopped them both dead in their tracks.

Tsuru stood up from her chair, though she was almost the same height standing as she had been sitting and she was barely visible behind the tall desk. However, the wooden stick she was brandishing was more than visible as she waved it threateningly in their direction. "I don't know what this is all about but the two of you have five seconds to leave my library or I'll see to it that you are permanently banned for the rest of your pathetic lives!" She snapped, bringing the wooden stick down onto the desk again, sending another loud crack throughout the room.

Sanji was half tempted to point out that she was making more noise now than they had while fighting, but he was pulled away by Usopp before he could do so. The stranger released his wrist as Sanji was tugged backwards and Sanji winced as the blood flow returned to his fingers. Thick red marks in the shape of the moron's fingers were imprinted on to his fair skin and he was sure they'd leave a bruise that would be visible for days to come.

Tsuru's stick and shouting had drawn a small crowd, all curious as to what had disturbed their peaceful afternoon. The stranger noticed, his gaze finding each and every onlooker, keeping a mental head count of them. His glare returned once more to Nami, but he seemed to have decided to throw in the towel for now. Instead he gave the redhead one more harsh glare before turning and heading up the hallway to the main atrium, shoving past Sanji and Usopp as he did so and disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

**A/N: **

So that was a little more interesting right? And we have Zoro now!

Thank you all so much for your reviews! You guys are truly awesome and I really appreciate your feedback and enjoy all of your speculations!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Sanji and Usopp went their separate ways when they reached the atrium. Sanji headed back towards the kitchen and Usopp up towards Franky's workshop. They hadn't spoken much since leaving the library, Sanji was still seething and Usopp had been almost cowering under his friend's rage. Usopp had tried to calm him down, and Sanji felt slightly guilty for so steadfastly ignoring the younger man's attempts. Sanji knew his own temper though, and he knew it was going to have to burn away on its own. No amount of placating and soothing would calm him faster, rather, had anyone except for Usopp tried it that probably would have just made Sanji even angrier.

There was only one surefire way to calm himself down quickly, and though he was pressed for time he still gave it some deep consideration. He probably only had a few minutes to make it back to the kitchens for work, and while the time and place were not exactly his ideal...

Sanji ducked into the space between two buildings. The buildings were mostly carved out of the stone their colony had been built in, but there was usually a small gap between caused by their store fronts jutting out from the surrounding stone. It was hardly a spacious hiding spot, but it was secluded and out of view which is exactly what Sanji needed right now. He reached into the pocket of his uniform, pulling out a slim metal case and extracting half of a thin stick with one previously burnt end. Reaching into his pocket again, Sanji pulled out a lighter. It took a few clicks for the lighter to ignite into flame, but once he got it lit, Sanji brought the blazing flame to the already burned end of the stick.

With a deep inhale, he dragged a breath full of smoke into his lungs and almost instantly he could feel the effects. Cigarettes, they were called, were a luxury afforded only to their higher ups. Not even the guards were typically permitted to have them. Sanji imagined if he were ever caught with them he'd be lucky to be sent to the factories. That was the reason he always kept them on his body, he had known for a long time that their rooms (and thereby their personal effects) underwent sporadic inspections. It was safer to carry his cigarettes and his lighter with him deep in his pockets at all times.

He'd originally found them on accident. The shiny silver case they'd been in had been eye catching, and Sanji wondered how no one else had noticed it before he got there. Perhaps they had but had chosen to ignore it. Curiosity tended to lead to dangerous things, after all, and it wasn't usually worth the risk. But Sanji had never been very good about fighting his own curiosity, and so he stopped and picked up the strange metal case.

He had no idea what the thin paper sticks inside were at first, but at least his common sense warned him to be cautious about whom he asked. There were probably many people in the colony who could have easily told him what they were, but very few he trusted to keep his discovery a secret. Fortunately he didn't have to go far to find a trustworthy person to ask. Nami was usually in the library after all.

The light he saw flash in her eyes when he pulled out the case told him she instantly knew what she was looking at but she'd made a big show of needing to do some research. She stressed that she was busy, and this kind of research would be time consuming and risky. Of course she needed some kind of payment, and Sanji happily offered her anything from the kitchen if she would so kindly help him.

Nami didn't want food from the kitchen though, and Sanji really shouldn't have been surprised. Her meals were more appetizing than his, so really there was little else he could offer her. What she wanted was even easier to give her as well. All she asked was to be able to sample what was in the case; to try one of those white sticks. Sanji wasn't exactly sure how she was going to try them, or what was so good about them that she wanted to try, but he readily agreed. It was a small price to pay really.

"Cigarettes," She told him, taking the silver case from him and pulling two of the long sticks from inside, handing one to Sanji. It felt like it was made out of paper, but upon closer inspection it was obviously filled with something.

"What do you do with them?" He'd asked. He couldn't think of a single useful purpose for the things.

"You smoke them," She stated simply, pulling a matchbook from her pocket. Why she had a matchbook in the first place would ever remain a mystery to Sanji. He'd learned long ago not to question where Nami got half the things she owned, he was sure he didn't want to know anyway.

She lit a match and passed it to Sanji before quickly lighting her own. "You just light this tip a little bit, she directed, placing one end of the cigarette in her mouth and nearing the match to the other end. "And inhale."

Sanji followed her directions, lighting the tip of the cigarette and drawing in a breath of air. Acrid smoke filled his lungs, burning his throat on the way there and leaving a terrible taste in this mouth. He choked at the sudden unexpected and unwelcome sensations, and started a coughing fit in his attempt to breathe properly again.

He wasn't the only one. Beside him Nami was coughing as well, drawing wheezing breaths in between her coughs. "These are awful," She finally managed. "I have no idea what my mom liked about them."

"Your mom smoked these?" Sanji asked curiously.

"Yeah. Before the incident she smoked all the time. I don't really remember but she talked about it a lot. She said she really missed them." She coughed again. "Though I can't see why."

But Sanji sort of could. The unpleasant coughing fit aside, something was different. He felt lightheaded, but not dizzy, and a sort of settling feeling seemed to cover his body. Curiously he took another drag from the cigarette, carefully this time now that he knew what to expect. Again the smoke burned his lungs and throat, though he saw it coming this time and managed to avoid forcing another coughing fit.

Again the calming feeling seemed to settle over him. He could almost feel it coursing through his veins, and the lightheaded sensation was making him feel almost giddy. There was actually something to these cigarette things.

"I don't think they're that bad," Sanji said to Nami.

She'd given him disbelieving look. "You can have mine then," She said, passing him her barely lit cigarette. "It's all yours."

Sanji had always been very sparing with his cigarettes since then. Eventually they were going to run out, and what Sanji was going to do then he wasn't sure. He supposed he'd have to give them up. Perhaps he could bribe a guard, he was sure they at least knew where he could find more. If he tried to bribe the wrong guard though, he could land himself in serious trouble. Sanji wasn't sure it was really worth the trouble.

He inhaled another lungful of smoke, feeling the calming lightheaded feeling settle over him. Well…maybe it was.

He took one last drag of the cigarette before carefully stubbing the remaining portion out on the stone floor and replacing the nearly spent cigarette in the metal case. He would finish it another time. For now it had served its purpose, he was feeling much better than he had earlier. All thoughts of the strange man in the library had vanished from his mind. Almost all of the thoughts anyway. Sanji wouldn't easily forget that stupid green or those piercing golden eyes, and if he ever saw them again he'd kick the ass they belonged to.

That matter settled, Sanji quickly made his way back to the kitchens. The alarm signaling the end of his lunch period rang just has he slid through the doorway. Quickly he placed his hat on his head and joined Zeff, ignoring the catcalls from both Patty and Carne about his tardiness.

"You stink, little eggplant," Zeff commented, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Sanji froze. Zeff probably knew what cigarettes smelled like. They'd been something common on the surface, according to Nami. Could Zeff smell them on Sanji? Sanji took a subtle sniff of his clothes. He couldn't tell. At the moment, he could still taste his last cigarette and feel the burn of it in his lungs.

"What do I smell like?" Sanji asked curiously. He kept his face neutral but curious, waiting to see what Zeff would say. Would he guess what it was? Would he out Sanji? Zeff was pretty lenient about giving food out. Would he be as lenient about this?

Zeff seemed to consider the question for a moment. Finally he answered. "Like shit," He grumbled. "What did you go play in the waste deposits on your lunch?"

This he said loud enough to catch the attention of the other kitchen staff, namely Patty and Carne who had a field day with the idea. Sanji had to spend most of the rest of his day enduring their incessant teasing, but he could handle that. It appeared Zeff was going to let him go on this as well. His admiration and respect for the man soared even higher and Sanji wondered if he'd ever be able to repay Zeff for all his kindness.

Aside from the constant jabs about his nonexistent garbage digging habits from Patty and Carne, the remainder of Sanji's afternoon was uneventful. His day was nearly over. When the dinner alarms rang, he'd have the rest of the evening free. Perhaps he could get Usopp to play cards today. The younger man refused to play when Nami was around, but maybe if it were just the two of them he'd be more willing.

Sanji was lost in thought about how to spend the rest of his quiet evening off and failed to notice when the rest of the kitchen fell silent. It took a few moments, but the lack of idle chatter, harshly thrown insults, and clanging of metal utensils against pots and pans finally sank in, and Sanji looked around in surprise. The kitchen was _never_ quiet.

Every eye in the kitchen was turned in the same direction, as the others all stared in awe. Sanji quickly spun to see what was so shocking it could silence a whole kitchen of unruly men and women. There, in the doorway of the kitchen, stood an unusual looking stranger. A stranger would have been odd enough, but the vibrant green hair and shining golden eyes was made the stranger even more unusual.

"You!" Sanji shouted, pointing his knife in the stranger's direction accusingly.

"I've told you once before, that knife is not a weapon," Zeff snapped.

"I'm in the kitchen," Sanji retorted, though his eyes never left the stranger. "It's a cooking implement and I'm just looking at a really big piece of meat."

The kick to his shin hurt twice as much when he wasn't expecting it. Zeff didn't hold anything back either. Sanji dropped to one knee, his hands cradling his bruising shin. He glared up at Zeff but the old man had already turned to address their guest.

"Can I help you?" Zeff asked the green-haired freak. "This is the kitchen, the mess hall is out there," Zeff pointed through the door. "But dinner hasn't been called to start yet."

"I'm sorry," The stranger said sincerely, with a small bow. "I smelled food and it's been a while since I'd eaten so…" He trailed off.

Sanji was angry. This irritable, rude, violent shit-head was being polite and respectful to Zeff. Of course, Sanji wouldn't have it any other way. If the bastard had been rude to Zeff, Sanji would have put his knife to good use before Zeff had the chance to stop him. What pissed him off was the fact that the green-haired menace was only acting polite to get what he wanted, and what he wanted was probably a hand out.

Fortunately, Zeff was no fool. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the newcomer. "Dinner should be starting soon, I'm sure you can wait until then."

The stranger's stomach growled. If Sanji hadn't known such a thing was impossible, he would have thought that the man timed it that way. He still wondered if he hadn't, after all, the man's strange appearance had to be the effect of chemical altering by Shinokuni, it couldn't be that much of a stretch to be able to control certain bodily functions.

Sanji mentally berated himself. Hunger was hunger. He'd been on the receiving end of its vicious claws more than once. No matter how he felt about the violent man in front of him, it was wrong to pass his obvious hunger off on some weak excuse. And besides, Sanji hadn't noticed the strange man at breakfast or at lunch, so there was at least a little evidence to support his claim.

Zeff's eyes softened, just a fraction. Sanji could read their intention though. Zeff didn't let anyone go hungry; he hated it more than anything. Sanji knew what Zeff would do before he did it, and while Sanji wasn't entirely in support of the action, he stood by quietly and watched it happen with an almost detached interest. Around him, the other cooks and kitchen help returned to their work with more enthusiasm and noise than was probably necessary. It was the general rule of the kitchen when this sort of thing happened. No one would witness it, and no one would be guilty if the guards ever caught them.

Zeff pulled a roll of bread off the rack and approached the stranger. He still regarded the man with slight suspicion, and approached slowly as if he were a wild animal.

"What's you name kid?" Zeff asked.

The man was quiet for a moment. It was obvious he was reluctant to give even that much information out, but the offer Zeff was making was clear; the stranger's name for a roll of bread.

"Zoro," The green-headed man finally said.

"Hm," Zeff grunted, passing over the bread roll to Zoro. "Stupid name."

Zoro accepted the bread with a smile. A genuine smile, to Sanji's distaste. Whatever suspicions and ill feelings he may have harbored towards this green bastard, Zoro, he could tell Zoro was being genuine in this moment.

Zeff gave Zoro another appraising look as the green-haired man took a bite of the roll. By the look on his face, you'd have thought that bread roll was the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten. Sanji knew for a fact the bread was gritty, rough, and sometimes tough to chew, but Zoro's face didn't betray any of that. It was a look of pure bliss.

Zeff didn't miss the look either, and for the first time in almost forever, Sanji saw a smile work its way onto the old man's face. Someone was enjoying his food, not just as a source of sustenance, but genuinely enjoying the food. The way Zeff was hoping for every time he asked Sanji how his meals were. Sanji felt a small spark of jealousy ignite in his gut, hurt that he wasn't able to provide that same kind of happiness for the old man. He smothered that feeling quickly though. It shouldn't matter how, the fact that Zeff was happy at the moment should have been a good thing,

"Why don't you sit over there," Zeff said to Zoro, pointing to an out of the way corner. "Take a rest until dinner. Sanji will come get you for your meal."

Sanji opened his mouth to protest but Zeff stopped him with a single look. Sanji frowned at the old man, trying to convey with his eyes the message that Sanji would rather cut off his own toes than have to take that bastard to dinner. Didn't Zeff see what a bad idea this was? Didn't he realize that Zoro should have been working as well? Zoro couldn't have been much older than Sanji; surely he wouldn't have been able to get out of working somewhere until dinner. Every pair of hands was a valuable asset to the colony; no young and able bodied man would be able to get out of work without a good reason.

But Zeff ignored his looks, and Sanji knew the decision was made. The old man was stupidly stubborn when he wanted to be, and nothing Sanji did or said would change his mind. Instead he turned his glare onto Zoro. Surely the other man would be as unwilling to go along with this suggestion as Sanji was. It wasn't like he'd ever been friendly with the guy. Unfortunately Zoro was surveying the corner that Zeff had suggested with interest and Sanji was afraid the bastard's laziness might outweigh his better judgment.

The corner Zeff had offered out was really just an oddly shaped aperture in the rock, probably a hole that had existed there before the space for the kitchen had been dug out. Because it was small and oddly shaped, it didn't hold much use for them in the kitchen. It was big enough to throw a few sacks of ingredients if their usual storage area was full. This rarely happened though, and mostly the out of the way crevice went ignored behind the bread racks.

Zoro settled himself into the crevice, letting his eyes fall shut and looking perfectly content. Sanji seethed but returned to his station. This was clearly not a fight he was going to win. Apparently he was the only one who could see the problem in this situation.

"Shouldn't he be at work?" Sanji voiced out loud, hoping maybe his completely valid point would raise a few eyebrows.

"Kid," Zeff scolded. "Shut up."

Sanji and Zeff locked gazes in what was becoming a fierce battle to out-glare one another. Sanji definitely felt like he was winning. His glare was perfect, steady, even, and cold. While Zeff's was definitely losing its edge. If Sanji looked close enough, he could almost see the look of defeat in the old man's eyes.

And then all at once Zeff's eyes softened and he looked at Sanji with a mixture of pity and regret. The look was almost a physical slap in the face, and Sanji flinched under the weight of Zeff's gaze. The old man shook his head, looking away from Sanji and back at the food he was preparing. It was something for tonight's dinner, though at this rate Sanji half wondered if it would be done on time.

"You've lived here too long, little eggplant," Zeff said sadly.

Sanji wasn't sure how to reply to that. Of course he'd lived here too long, there was nowhere else he could go. He could, if he was desperate, move to another colony, though he wasn't sure anything would actually be any different there. The surface was out of the question, obviously. So where else was Sanji going to live?

Sanji thought about asking what exactly Zeff meant, asking him to clarify what the heck he was talking about. But the look in Zeff's eyes held a trace amount of disappointment as well. That stung worst of all, and Sanji's questions died in his throat. He wasn't so sure he wanted to know the answer. He didn't want to admit to needing Zeff's approval, but the old man was his mentor. More importantly, Zeff was someone he looked up to and respected, and was one of the few people in the colony that Sanji actually liked. He looked up to Zeff like a father, and though he'd never admit it out loud, he desperately wanted to old man to see him as a son.

Instead of questioning Zeff's comment, he turned away from the old man and the look of disappointment in his eyes. The will to fight and argue drained away from him as he picked up his knife and resumed working. He remained quiet as he work, and he half expected Patty and Carne or other members of the kitchen staff to start making fun of him the moment they realized he' given in to Zeff's orders.

The cruel taunts and mockeries never came, however. Apparently the others weren't quite as simpleminded and stupid as Sanji was always imagining them to be. They seemed to be able to pick up on the mood, though whether it was Sanji's hurt feelings or Zeff's frustration that kept their tongues at bay, Sanji had no idea. Either way, he was grateful for the silence.

When the bells marking the end of his work day and the start of dinner rang, Sanji quickly cleaned his work station spotless and made for the corner where the green-headed monster was hiding. He had thought about "accidentally forgetting" to grab the other man before heading out of the mess hall to wait for Usopp, but he could practically feel Zeff's eyes boring into the back of his head. Sanji had no choice but to get the stranger and take him to the mess hall, unless he wanted to face Zeff's wrath again. And he didn't. He really didn't.

Zoro was sleeping rather soundly in the corner. Sanji was surprised he was able to sleep so peacefully in such a noisy atmosphere. Even without Patty and Carne's constant mockery or Zeff's shouting, the kitchen was hardly a quiet place. Pots and pans clanging against each other and their surfaces, the steady clacking noise of knives chopping against a cutting board, the shouting of orders between the cook's was all loud enough to make Sanji's ears ring some days. But when the cook pulled out a bread rack to fetch his irritating charge, he found him reclining against the rock, arms behind his head and snoring steadily.

"Oi," Sanji called. He had no desire to have to approach the other man. He was hoping he could get away with pointing the green-head in the right direction and leaving him to his own devices. Surely that would be enough, right?

But it seemed that the plant-brained moron was determined to ruin Sanji's day even in his sleep. He didn't so much as budge at the sound of Sanji's voice. Sanji wondered if the other man was ignoring him on purpose.

"Oi!" Sanji tried again, louder. The man's face twitched slightly and his snores faltered for a moment before resuming their previous rhythm.

Sanji glared down at the bastard. He had no choice but to get closer then. Fine, but Sanji wasn't going to be nice about it.

"Bastard, get up!" Sanji called, making to swing his leg into Zoro's side.

He saw the movement just in the nick of time, and managed to swing the angle of his kick to the side to avoid the hand that had shot out to grab it. The change in angle was inconvenient, but he could still deliver a sharp blow to the bastard's knee.

At the very last second Zoro straightened his knee, narrowly avoiding Sanji's foot. Sanji could feel the sole of his shoe barely brush the fabric of the other man's pants, he'd been that close. His leg froze in mid-air, stilled by his disbelief. Likewise, Zoro's eyes opened a crack, surveying his empty outstretched hand for a moment before looking up at the cook with a slightly impressed expression.

It was gone a moment later, replaced by a harsh and distrustful glare. "What do you want?" The green-headed man asked. His voice was slightly hoarse, and Sanji realized he really must have been sleeping at some point.

"It's dinner time, shitty bastard," Sanji replied, easing his leg back down and stepping away from the violent stranger.

"That's not a very polite wake up call, shitty cook," Zoro replied, standing and stretching. There were several cracks and pops from the green-head's body that made even Sanji wince. Sleeping on the stone floor could not have been comfortable, so why on earth the strange man had chosen to take a nap there was beyond him. Obviously the guy was a lazy bastard, Sanji supposed he made due with napping wherever he could find a place.

"Then next time maybe you'll listen when I call," Sanji smirked before turning around and leaving the plant-head behind him. He gave no signal for the other man to follow him, and he actually hoped he wouldn't. No matter what Zeff thought, this guy was dangerous. Sanji had some of the sharpest reflexes around, learned from years of picking fights and avoiding Zeff's deadly legs. No one had ever managed to dodge him, that kind of movement took skill and practice. It wasn't something your average person could do, and that made Zoro even more of a threat in Sanji's mind.

Unfortunately the green man seemed to take Sanji's exit as a hint and Sanji could hear the scuffle of boots on stone for a moment before the other man fell into step behind Sanji. Sanji sighed internally. It was his bad luck that the idiot seemed to be so compliant at the moment. Perhaps the need for food was driving the other man's willingness to cooperate. He hadn't been nearly so friendly (or at least, he hadn't had the decency to hold his tongue) in the library that afternoon. Either way, Sanji was still hoping that once he was shown where to go, Zoro would go and do his own thing. Preferably far away from Sanji.

The mess hall was already quickly filling when Sanji emerged from the kitchen. He threw an aggravated glare to the man behind him, who returned it with a look of confusion. Apparently this idiot didn't know that he had made Sanji later for a meal than he was used to being.

"There you are!" Usopp called in relief from the entrance of the mess hall. Sanji was usually there to meet him first, but apparently the green haired distraction that was still trailing behind him had made him late enough to keep Usopp waiting instead.

"Sorry," Sanji apologized. "Something came up."

That particular 'something' came up behind Sanji and Usopp's face paled considerably.

"S-Sanji," Usopp shook like a leaf, pointing over Sanji's shoulder with a look of horror. "There's…behind you."

"I know," Sanji frowned, looking over his shoulder and throwing Zoro another disgusted glare. "Zeff said I had to take him with me."

"Zeff?" Usopp said in wonder. His shaking subsided nearly completely at the mention of Sanji's mentor. After all, Usopp knew how much Sanji looked up to and respected the old man. He also knew that, despite the old man's stern attitude and wicked mean kick, Zeff was a good person who was not easily tricked or coerced.

Sanji could see the relief in Usopp's eyes and, at the risk of losing his only ally against the crazy green-headed bastard behind him, added, "The geezer's getting crazy in his old age."

This comment didn't seem to change Usopp's mind about Zeff's opinion that much, but at least the younger man was still regarding the newcomer with a healthy dose of suspicion and distrust.

Zoro, meanwhile, didn't seem the least bit concerned with the conversation being held about him or about the suspicious and scathing looks that Usopp and Sanji were giving him, respectively. Instead he was surveying their surroundings with a look of mild curiosity, as if he'd never seen the inside of a mess hall before.

"Let's go," Sanji finally said. "If we don't get in line now we might get stuck with the stuff from the bottom of the pots."

He and Usopp shuddered. The cook's had very little control over what happened to the food once it left the kitchen to be distributed. Pots of stew or porridge were placed over open fires to keep them hot, but not tended to as carefully as they were in the kitchen. Leave a pot of stew over a flame for too long and you ended up with a burnt and unappetizing sludge at the bottom. It was always best to eat before that happened.

Zoro seemed unperturbed by the thought. Of course, Sanji had just seen the plant-brain eat a roll of bread as if it were manna from heaven. The tasteless moron probably wouldn't mind the burned sludge in the slightest. Though, when Sanji looked back at the other man, it seemed Zoro had other things on his mine that were far more concerning than having an overcooked dinner. He was staring off to the left of the serving table, and by the tense line of his back and shoulders, Sanji supposed whatever the other man saw was something to worry about.

Sanji followed Zoro's line of sight. At the end of the serving table stood one of the guards, Hina, leisurely surveying each and every person as they passed by her with their trays of food. She didn't look particularly interested in any of them; she was merely performing her assigned duty. Sanji knew Hina enough to know that she took her job seriously when she needed too, but for the most part she was laid-back and easy going, and just a tad bit self-absorbed.

Admittedly, Sanji wasn't very fond of any of the guards, but judging by the slightly panicked look in Zoro's eyes he clearly had a much bigger problem with them.

"Can I borrow your hat?" He said suddenly, turning to Sanji.

Sanji was taken by surprise but the sudden question and couldn't think of the proper answer for a moment. "What?"

"I just need to borrow it. For a little bit," Zoro said, pointing to the hat in Sanji's hand.

Sanji's hat was an important part of his uniform, a part he could definitely get in trouble for not having on hand. Unlike the other pieces of his uniform, Sanji only had one hat. If he lost it, he'd definitely be in trouble.

"No way!" He responded, pulling the hat further away from Zoro's potential reach.

"Just for a minute," Zoro said. He pleaded Sanji with his eyes, as if Sanji was really causing him harm by denying this simple request.

Sanji opened his mouth to deny the other man again, but the words wouldn't make it past his lips. There was something almost desperate about Zoro's request and Sanji's curiosity was stronger than his hatred of the man.

"You can borrow my bandana," Usopp offered, pulling the slightly worn black thing from his pocket. Usopp's bandana wasn't a part of his uniform, he only wore it to keep his wildly curly hair out of the way while he worked on fine-tuned (and sometimes probably potentially dangerous) machines with Franky.

Zoro accepted easily, taking the bandana from Usopp and tying it around his head. It hid his green hair nicely, and he almost looked like a normal person. Almost, except for his warm skin tone, glaring golden eyes, and the perpetual scowl on his face anyway. Those things aside, Zoro stood out far less without his hair showing, and Sanji was beginning to think that maybe that was the purpose.

Sanji kept his mouth shut. It was tempting to call Zoro out on his odd and suspicious behavior, but as he was currently associating with the strange man, any suspicions he voiced about the man might cause Sanji problems as well. So for now he wisely kept his mouth shut. As they passed by where Hina was standing, Sanji swore he felt Zoro shrink. Not physically, the man was still standing straight beside Sanji, but Sanji swore the other man was somehow making himself smaller and less noticeable.

Hina hardly spared them a glance as they passed by, and Sanji let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. What exactly was he so worked up over? It wasn't like he had anything to hide after all. It was Zoro that seemed to have some secrets to hide. And now that they were past what apparently qualified as danger, Sanji was going to find out exactly what those secrets were.

They took their seats, fortunate to be able to get three together. Before they'd gotten in line, Sanji might have been glad to leave Zoro alone while he and Usopp found their own seats. However, now Sanji had questions he wanted answered, and he couldn't very well let Zoro get away without answering them.

"What was that?" Sanji asked. He probably should have used a more subtle approach, but he doubted someone as stupid as Zoro could handle anything but the straightforward approach.

Zoro froze for a second, looking almost surprised. As if anyone could have missed his unusual behavior before. Even Usopp was staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. The green-haired man looked between them before relaxing his stiff posture and settling into his food. He didn't eat it with quite as much fervor as he'd eat the bread roll with, but he seemed to enjoy the food. That was sort of nice to see, Sanji could see why it made Zeff so happy.

Now wasn't really the time for that sort of thing though.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zoro shrugged. He looked thoroughly unconcerned now, as if they really had been imagining something before. But he still hadn't removed the bandana that was hiding his hair, and that was enough proof for Sanji to continue.

"Why wear that then?" Sanji asked, gesturing with his spoon to the top of Zoro's head. "You seemed pretty desperate to hide that grass head of yours."

"Moss," Usopp said.

This caused both Sanji and Zoro to pause and look at him.

"Moss," Usopp said again, returning their confused expressions with one that said they should really know these kinds of things. "His hair looks more like moss. Hey Sanji! Did you know there are these little balls of moss that live at the bottoms of lakes? They're called marimos and-"

"Okay, marimo green it is then," Sanji interrupted. He knew that once Usopp got started on the topic of anything green he could go on for quite a while. They weren't really in the right place to be discussing plant forms that Usopp really shouldn't know anything about in the first place. Besides they had more important things to discuss at the moment.

"So, Marimo," Sanji smirked at the use of the new nickname. "Why the sudden need to hide that greenery of yours?"

Zoro frowned into his food as he ate. Sanji watched the other man carefully for his reactions. Clearly Zoro was a man of few intelligent words, but his body language was fairly telling. Or it usually was, unless the moss head was being especially careful, like he was now. Aside from the frown, Sanji couldn't tell by looking that the other man that anything was wrong.

Finally under the scrutinizing stares from both Sanji and Usopp, the strange man seemed to crack. He nervously touched his fingers to the bandana still tied securely around his head.

"I just don't like my hair color, okay? It makes me uncomfortable when people stare at it. It's not like this is normal, you know?" He said, sighing regretfully before returning to his food.

Usopp's gaze softened and he looked towards the green-head with sympathy. Usopp had gotten mocked enough in his younger days for his wild hair and unusually long nose, he clearly felt for the poor man with oddly colored hair.

Sanji, on the other hand, wasn't buying that for one minute.

"Bullshit," Sanji growled. He'd only just met the other man, but he'd never once seen the marimo look ashamed of his hair. In fact the confidence that the bastard held himself with was almost offensive. He was not a man who felt any shame in the way he looked. "You were just fine until you spotted Hina standing by the tables. What is it about Hina that set you off?"

Sanji paused, waiting for an answer. Zoro glared at him, a look would surely have struck Sanji dead already if that were possible.

"No," Sanji smirked, realization setting in. "It wasn't just Hina. It's the guards," His smile turned to one of triumph. This strange shitty bastard wasn't so hard to figure out after all. "You're afraid of the guards. So clearly you're up to no good!"

"I am not!" Zoro denied, almost too loudly. He turned a couple of heads with his sudden outburst, but fortunately no one seemed curious enough to wonder what it was that Zoro was denying.

Zoro lowered the volume of his voice before continuing. "I am not. Who would be afraid of those-" Suddenly Zoro stopped speaking, and once again his attention had been caught by something that was clearly far more interesting than arguing against Sanji's assumptions.

Sanji turned to look at what had distracted the moss head. Sure enough one of the guards was making their rounds through the mess hall. It wasn't uncommon, Sanji had learned to ignore them almost entirely (unless he and Usopp were discussing something they weren't supposed to). It was Brook that was making the rounds today, Sanji saw. It was impossible to miss that poof of hair even in a crowd. And that was what had captured Zoro's attention so thoroughly.

Sanji watched as Brook stopped at a table and held a brief conversation with the people seated there. Whatever he had said earned him a round of laughter before he moved on to the next group of people. At least Brook made conversation during his rounds; it was far more disconcerting when the guards simply walked past your table with a stern and serious face.

Brook turned towards their table at that moment. His usual cheerful smile seemed to falter for just a moment before returning to his face. His head tipped to one side as if something had perplexed him. Sanji watched curiously as Brook seemed to study their table for a moment before nodding.

With that nod, Brook turned and headed the opposite direction of their table. Sanji wasn't complaining, Brook's odd behavior set him on edge. He'd never seen the guard act quite like that, though the tall and thin man was rather strange by default, so maybe Sanji shouldn't have been so surprised.

"I have to go," Zoro suddenly announced.

Sanji's head turned sharply. Zoro was already standing and making to leave. He was going to run away before Sanji had any proper answers!

"Hey wait!" Sanji called. "You haven't finished eating."

Why that particular thing had come out of his mouth first, Sanji had no idea. It seemed like a pretty good reason for the moss head to stay though. Besides, Sanji really hated to see food go to waste, even if it was mostly tasteless and boring.

Zoro looked down at his half empty bowl. Picking it up, he drained its contents in a matter of seconds, hardly chewing the chopped vegetables inside before placing the now empty bowl back on the table. "There," He declared. "Happy?"

He snatched up the remaining half of his bread and took off, ducking between two people and disappearing into the dinner time rush.

"What was that about?" Usopp asked.

"I have no idea," Sanji frowned. He really wished he did.

* * *

**A/N:**

Hello! Sorry for the long wait. I intend to take my time writing this fic, but this was a little _too much_ time. Well...maybe. I guess it wasn't that long.

Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guys are so great! (and yes, Doom-Candy and Labyrinth-chan, I do plan on going into how the whole food thing works. At least I hope I get to it...I really want to...I'll get there I'm sure. It's one of my favorite things to imagine in this type of setting.)

I had some fun writing this chapter. Which is probably bad, because I don't think I'm supposed to have fun writing this.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!


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